The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 126
Court meeting.

On this day, the emperor finally gave a positive reply to the memorial about impeachment of Wang Yue, who had not been released before staying in China.

The result was that Wang Yue was "taken from his job and lived idle".

Wang Yue in the court did not react too violently, because he knew that this was just a cover for the outside world, and he was about to take orders to go to the northwest. The Ministry of War, the Dudu's Mansion, and even the lords of the three sides would cooperate with him.

Only Korean and Chinese officials were concealed.

After the court meeting ended, all the ministers had just walked out of the Meridian Gate.

Xie Qian said: "Your Majesty said earlier that he would not thoroughly investigate Wang Weining, why is it uncharacteristic today?"

The civil servants who can best grasp the emperor's mind are naturally the three members of the cabinet.

They usually had the most contact with the emperor, and almost watched Zhu Youtang grow up. Since Zhu Youtang was the prince, they began to study the character of this seemingly cowardly prince.

Li Dongyang shook his head: "It shouldn't be as simple as just resigning. If there is still war in the northwest, His Majesty will definitely value him."

Because of the unequal access to information now, Li Dongyang couldn't analyze the emperor's intentions from the situation he knew before him. He just felt that the emperor refused to let Wang Yue leave the capital and let him stay idle in the capital, probably because he wanted to call at any time.

……

……

Inside the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Youtang sent people to call Zhang Zhou, and after they were called, Dai Yi, Xiao Jing and others were not allowed to stay, only Zhang Zhou was left.

He wants to talk to Zhang Zhou alone.

Dai Yi and the others naturally felt a little apprehensive. Even though the emperor summoned Zhang Zhou and gave Zhang Zhou his trust, he did not say that he would drive them out during the conversation. They were all treated as outsiders.

"His Majesty……"

"sit!"

Zhu Youtang also came out from behind the desk, and sat down on the chair in front of Zhang Zhou.

Looking at Zhu Youtang's appearance, Zhang Zhou felt that the emperor was very emotional today.

"I am in court today, and I have let Wang Weining stay idle, and I will let the British public pass the word later. I will send Pingjiang uncle Chen Rui, Xiangcheng uncle Li Wei, and Wu Pingbo Chen Xun to cooperate with him in the Northwest War. The day will start..."

Zhu Youtang first told Zhang Zhou about the military arrangements.

Because Zhang Zhou was the planner of the whole incident, it means that the news was only spread in a small area to avoid being detected by the Tatars.

So even civil servants don't know.

Because Wang Yue went to the northwest in secret, if the generals of the Northwest Army saw Wang Yue rashly, they might still feel that Wang Yue was going to rebel, which required the cooperation of the Governor's Mansion.

Uncle Pingjiang, Uncle Xiangcheng, and Uncle Wu Ping are not from ordinary noble relatives, but Wuxun who can fight tough battles.

"In addition, I plan to send an internal officer to supervise the army. Who do you think is suitable?"

Zhu Youtang asked very seriously who would be the eunuch who supervised the army.

Zhang Zhoudao: "How can I make a proposal?"

"You can do it." Zhu Youtang said, "If you just find the eunuch guarding the northwest, I'm still a little worried..."

The implication is that he only wants to find trustworthy eunuchs in the palace. Those guarding eunuchs who don't usually have contact with him, although they know more about soldiers than those in the palace, and they also understand the entertainment in the Northwest officialdom, but with Zhu Youtang's approach to strangers People's conflicts make it difficult to generate trust.

Zhang Zhou tried to ask: "How about Zhang Yong and Zhang Gonggong?"

"Oh? Zhang Yong?"

Zhu Youtang was very strange that Zhang Zhou would mention a little-known Zhang Yong.

Zhang Zhoudao: "I just make suggestions based on my own ideas."

Zhu Youtang smiled and said: "I thought you would recommend Xiao Jing and the others. You said Zhang Yong, and he seemed to understand a little bit. I agreed."

Zhang Zhou thought about it, is this looking for trouble for himself?Zhang Yong made some achievements in the military in the future, but he was still only a mid-level official. It is not necessarily true that he knows how to march and fight.

Moreover, since the Zhengde period, Zhang Yong first worked for the Eight Tigers, and then worked as a minion for the Tigers with Qian Ning and Jiang Bin.

Not a positive character either.

"Hey! Bingkuan, I came to you this time. In fact, I mainly want to talk to you about the prince. You don't know that he has a map of the Northwest that you drew..."

As if pouring bitter water, Zhu Youtang told Zhang Zhou that it was not easy for him to discipline the prince.

Obviously, he never mentioned these words to others.

Probably this is also the reason why he dismissed Dai Yi and others. It seemed that he was willing to say these words only in front of Zhang Zhou, which was a kind of sharing.

Zhang Zhou heard the emperor's words, probably the emperor was very worried about the fact that the prince was very enthusiastic about military affairs despite his studies.

"The Ming Dynasty built the country with literature, and things on horseback are a long time ago." Zhu Youtang said, "Even before the emperor passed away, he told me not to use military force in the future."

Zhang Zhou thought, Emperor Chenghua told you this?
It seems that the emperor also understood that if the status of military generals was raised, there would be a situation like the Sui and Tang Dynasties where guards took turns to rebel. Only by suppressing the military power of military officials and letting civil officials rule the country can the stability of imperial power be guaranteed.

But to build a country with literature, there will be a shortage of armaments.

Zhang Zhoudao: "Your Majesty, the crown prince is interested in military and political affairs, and also has a certain talent. It seems that I should not blindly stop him. There is nothing wrong with letting him learn something."

Zhu Youtang nodded.

Zhang Zhou did not cater to him blindly, but put forward different views, which made the dialogue between the monarch and his ministers more deliberative.

With reciprocity, this conversation can go on.

Otherwise, what's the difference if Zhu Youtang told the eunuch, or the minister, or Zhang Zhou?
The eunuchs and civil servants would never allow the prince to learn the art of war or build a country by force.

"Do you think he should be encouraged?" Zhu Youtang asked seriously.

Zhang Zhoudao: "It's not encouragement, but a little advice. I gave the crown prince a picture earlier, just to let him understand the mountains and rivers of Daming, and let him understand the importance of defense on the nine frontiers. In my opinion, if you are the crown prince, you only need to Learning the Four Books and Five Classics will inevitably be biased in assisting in governing the country, and one should be well-informed and knowledgeable. Folks say that a prince cannot travel the world by reading thousands of books and traveling thousands of miles, but he should also have the mentality to travel the world."

"Okay!" Zhu Youtang nodded in satisfaction, and seemed to respect it very much, "One cannot rule the world, but one must have the heart to do it. I think that only you are the real prince and Ming."

Zhang Zhou hurriedly saluted: "Your Majesty is serious, I just want to teach the prince what I know."

Zhu Youtang smiled.

When a father has a different mindset about educating his son, he will be different from those gentlemen.

He also hopes that his son's morality, intelligence, physique, art and labor will develop in an all-round way, and not just be a nerd. As for the requirements of civil officials, Zhu Youtang used to believe that he should be a king who emphasizes literature over military affairs. As more and more things are encountered on the road of governing the country, naturally the cognitive bias will no longer be as before.

Why doesn't Zhu Youtang want to work hard so that Daming can level the grassland?
Just think about it, don't dare to do it.

The intention of the ministers is to curb the imperial power, regulate the emperor into the model they want, and emphasize the importance of the people over the emperor.

If the emperor also thinks this way... unless the emperor has a tendency to abuse himself.

Who doesn't want to speak out?It's just that sometimes you can't talk about it.

"Bingkuan, I will have an exam next year...I don't know what to say now, have you heard about Cheng Minzheng?" Zhu Youtang changed the topic again, and began to discuss with Zhang Zhou the almost absurd question case before.

Zhang Zhou nodded.

Zhu Youtang said: "I asked Xiao Jing to tell you, in fact, to let you know that what you are worried about, that Cheng Minzheng is rejected by others, seems to be true, but I don't think that he is doing this for the chief examiner of the exam. On the matter, I should allow it!"

What?
Zhang Zhou wanted to say.

Now that others are so resistant to Cheng Minzheng, why do you insist on facing the difficulties and let Cheng Minzheng be the chief examiner?
Are you masochistic?Or head iron?
"Cheng Minzheng is, in my opinion, the most knowledgeable and talented person in the world. With his talent, he may be in charge of the Imperial Academy. If he enters the cabinet... I am afraid that something will be wrong with his way of dealing with the world." Zhu Youtang sighed.

Zhang Zhou nodded.

This really hits the point.

There is an essential difference between doing academic research and rolling around in political circles.

Cheng Minzheng is only suitable to be a scholar, not an official.

Because Cheng Minzheng's political thinking is still in the primary thinking of "I can do whatever I want, and I don't need to consider other people's ideas".

Don't you understand the most basic suspicion avoidance?
If you belong to the mainstream civil servant faction of the imperial court, it's fine, the key point is that you are still a big fan, and you are not on the same team as others, and you still want to be so awkward...

Politics is a very mysterious thing. Even Zhang Zhou felt that Cheng Minzheng was not suitable for a high position.

The higher you climb, the harder you fall.

Zhu Youtang said: "I should hand over this exam to him. It can be regarded as telling you in advance who will be the main examiner for the next year's exam."

"Your Majesty, it's actually inappropriate for you to discuss this with the minister." Zhang Zhou wanted to persuade him, but he didn't know where to start.

I'm just an examinee, you have to discuss with me even as the chief examiner...

Is it a little too trusting?
Zhu Youtang smiled and said: "It's okay, if I don't discuss with you, who can I discuss with?"

Between the words, Zhu Youtang was somewhat helpless.

Zhang Zhou was right when he thought about it.

The emperor lacked confidantes.

There are some things that cannot be said to the eunuch.

I can't even talk to the ministers, can I tell them that I just admire Cheng Minzheng and want to use him, so you don't want to target him anymore?
"Bingkuan, the new year is about to turn, and the examination is about to begin. My greatest hope now is that you can pass the Jinshi examination. No matter whether you are a top-ranking scholar, I will let you enter the hall and be a lecturer on the Sutra Festival. In the future, I will There is no need to call you into the palace again if you have something to do, you can come anytime."

Zhu Youtang had a conversation with Zhang Zhou, and he felt much better.

His expression was somewhat relieved.

Zhang Zhoudao: "I am ashamed and dare not be responsible."

If you are an official in the East Palace, you can enter the palace at any time?Zhang Zhouxin said, wouldn't he be on call by then?It's just that I can't use exam preparation as an excuse like now.

"For the selection of Guozijian, I have already greeted the people in Hanyuan, and I asked Xiao Jing to pass the message on my behalf. If they don't choose you, I will transfer some papers and I will choose you personally... I heard that you still don't know. Bet with Lin Jijiu?"

Zhu Youtang was well informed.

Zhang Zhou said: "...Yes."

Zhu Youtang smiled and said, "You are just too casual and too flamboyant. Being an official like this is easy to be targeted. You still say Cheng Minzheng. Well, I will help you, and I actually want to see it too, Lin Ji The way the wine is lost to the younger generation, I am afraid that he is too concerned about his face and cannot afford to lose, so don't annoy him, after all, we will be ministers in the same palace in the future."

(End of this chapter)